MHSAA Accepting Student Advisory Council Applications for Class of 2025
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 10, 2023
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is seeking student-athletes to become members of its Student Advisory Council beginning with the 2023-24 school year.
Four boys and four girls from the Class of 2025 will be selected to two-year terms, and will meet on matters related to maintaining and promoting a proper perspective and sensible scope for high school sports in Michigan. Eight members from the Class of 2024 already are serving on the Council, while eight members from the Class of 2023 are leaving the Council this spring.
To be eligible for the committee, candidates must be a member of the Class of 2025, complete the official application including answering the three short-answer questions, submit a letter of recommendation from a school administrator, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and be available for all scheduled meetings.
In addition, candidates should show a history of leadership on athletic teams as well as with other extracurricular activities, community service projects, or in the workplace; and show an understanding of the role of school sports and have ideas for promoting a proper perspective for educational athletics.
Applications are due to the MHSAA by 4:30 p.m. on April 24. Applications can be downloaded from the Student Advisory Council page of the MHSAA Website and must be returned via e-mail, fax or any mail delivery service.
The Student Advisory Council meets six times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. A fifth S – student leadership – is also a common topic. Members contribute to the planning of Sportsmanship Summits, Captains Clinics and other student leadership events, and assist with medal ceremonies at MHSAA championship events.
Newly-chosen members will join the following from the Class of 2023: Kannon Duffing, Manchester; Claire Gorno, Gaylord; M'Khi Guy, Muskegon; Dawsen Lehew, Marcellus; Christian Sanders, Detroit Renaissance; Ben Sytsma, Grand Rapids Christian; Madeline Werner, Bay City All Saints; and DaNia Womack, Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy.
The eight new members of the Student Advisory Council will be notified by May 5. The 2023-24 meetings are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 27, Oct. 1, Dec. 3, Feb. 11, April 21 and May 12. Meetings will take place at the MHSAA Office in East Lansing. For additional information, contact Andy Frushour at the MHSAA – 517-332-5046 or [email protected].
Girls Wrestling District, Regional Team Titles Headline 2025-26 Winter Additions, Rule Changes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 4, 2025
The MHSAA will this season award District and Regional team championships in girls wrestling for the first time, with those additions headlining changes to winter sports as 2025-26 activities continue to get underway this month across the state.
Ice hockey, gymnastics, competitive cheer, girls and boys bowling, Upper Peninsula girls and boys swimming & diving, girls and boys wrestling and boys basketball all have begun competition for the 2025-26 season. Girls and boys skiing, Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving and girls basketball will begin competition over the next week.
The first Finals team championship in girls wrestling was awarded to Grand Haven to conclude the 2024-25 season, with scoring based on results from individual brackets at the MHSAA Individual Finals. Team champions for District and Regional levels this winter will be determined using the same format as the sport continues to grow toward the possibility of a head-to-head team tournament. A total of 1,505 girls participated in wrestling during the 2024-25 season, more than double the 620 participants from 2021-22, the first season the MHSAA conducted a girls division at the Individual Finals.
Ice hockey teams also will enjoy a significant addition this winter, as they are now allowed to play 27 regular-season games – two more than in seasons past – plus one scrimmage. Ice hockey also has one on-ice rule change that will be noticeable: A puck resting on top of the goal netting between the crossbar and goal frame is now considered unplayable and results in an immediate game stoppage. A puck outside of the goal netting and below the crossbar remains in play for both teams.
The most noticeable rule changes in basketball this winter address goaltending. Offensive teams no longer can be called for goaltending violations, reducing ambiguity over whether a ball was a shot or a pass. Additionally, a rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight – if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is to be ruled as goaltending.
Another basketball rule change expanded the definition of basket interference to include when a player slaps or strikes the backboard, causing the backboard or basket to vibrate, while the ball is on or within the basket, touching the backboard, or within the cylinder.
As were allowed during the fall Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving season, backstroke ledges will be permitted this LP boys and UP girls and boys season in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them. Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
The 2025-26 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 21 and wraps up with the Girls Basketball Finals on March 21.
A one-year calendar change will move this season’s Competitive Cheer Finals one week later than usual, to March 6-7, to accommodate scheduling at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. Districts this season in cheer are scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026, and Regionals for Feb. 28, with Finals the following weekend. Dates for the 2026-27 and future competitive cheer seasons will return to their previously-approved schedule, with Finals to be held during the last Saturday (and previous Friday) in February.
Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates for 2025-26:
Boys Basketball
Districts – Feb. 23, 25, 27
Regionals – March 3, 5
Quarterfinals – March 10
Semifinals – March 12-13
Finals – March 14
Girls Basketball
Districts – March 2, 4, 5
Regionals – March 9, 11
Quarterfinals – March 17
Semifinals – March 19-20
Finals – March 21
Bowling
Regionals – Feb. 18-21
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Competitive Cheer
Districts – Feb. 20-21
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Gymnastics
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Ice Hockey
Regionals – Feb. 16-25
Quarterfinals – Feb. 28
Semifinals – March 5-6
Finals – March 7
Skiing
Regionals – Feb. 9-13
Finals – Feb. 23
Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls/Boys Finals – Feb. 21
Lower Peninsula Boys Diving Regionals – March 5
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals – March 13-14
Wrestling – Team
Districts – Feb. 11-12
Regionals – Feb. 18
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Wrestling – Individual
Boys Districts – Feb. 14
Girl Districts – Feb. 15
Boys Regionals – Feb. 21
Girls Regionals – Feb. 22
Finals – March 6-7